The problem with almost dying was that people suddenly started treating you like glass.
Ophelia discovered this the next morning after three different maids followed her around just because she wanted to walk near a window.
“A little fresh air won’t kill me,” she said.
Emily looked unconvinced.
“That is exactly what someone close to death would say.”
Ophelia stared at her.
“Fair point.”
Honestly, she still hadn’t fully accepted the fact that this was real.
Everytime she woke up, part of her expected to see her tiny London apartment again.
The ugly ceiling.
The pile of ungraded assignments.
The sound of her neighbor fighting with somebody at 2am.
Instead, she got silk curtains and emotional damage.
Not exactly an upgrade.
Emily helped her brush her hair while servants moved quietly around the room.
Nobody looked directly at Ophelia for too long.
That was starting to bother her.
It felt like they were scared of her.
Or maybe scared for her.
“My lady…” Emily hesitated.
“You should prepare yourself.”
“For?”
The maid looked nervous immediately.
“Lord Vale arrived earlier this morning.”
Right.
The terrifying fiancé.
Ophelia suddenly understood why the atmosphere in the manor felt so tense.
Even the servants looked stressed.
That couldn’t be normal.
Unless Alekxander walked around murdering people for fun, which honestly was still a possibility at this point.
“What kind of person is he exactly?” Ophelia asked carefully.
Emily went quiet.
Too quiet.
“Emily.”
“He’s respected.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Emily sighed softly.
“People fear him.”
Fantastic.
Exactly what every girl wanted in a future husband.
Ophelia stood up slowly from her chair.
Her body still felt weak sometimes, though she hated showing it.
The room spun slightly for a second.
Emily panicked immediately.
“My lady…”
“I’m fine.”
“You almost fainted.”
“I almost died too but here we are.”
Emily looked seconds away from crying again.
Ophelia quickly regretted the joke.
“Sorry.”
A strange silence filled the room after that.
Then suddenly,
Knock knock.
Every servant froze.
Not normal.
Definitely not normal.
Emily quickly lowered her head.
“Enter.”
The door opened slowly.
And for the first time,
Ophelia saw him.
Lord Alekxander Vale.
He was taller than she expected.
Dressed entirely in black.
Not in a dramatic way.
Just… simple.
Sharp.
Clean.
Like someone who didn’t care about unnecessary things.
His face was calm to the point of being unreadable.
But his eyes,
His eyes immediately landed on her.
And stayed there.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Nobody spoke.
Not even the servants.
Alekxander walked further inside quietly.
“You dismissed the physician again.”
His voice was deep.
Calm.
Not warm.
Not cold either.
Just controlled.
Ophelia blinked once.
“Hello to you too.”
Emily looked like she wanted to disappear into another dimension.
But to Ophelia’s surprise…
Alekxander’s expression shifted slightly.
Like he wasn’t expecting that answer.
“You seem energetic today.”
“That’s one way to describe surviving death.”
Again, silence.
Ophelia was beginning to think this man simply enjoyed staring contests.
He looked at her carefully.
Too carefully.
Like he was searching for something.
Finally, he spoke again.
“You’ve changed.”
There it was.
Again.
Everybody kept saying that.
Ophelia crossed her arms lightly.
“I’m starting to feel insulted by how often people mention that.”
Emily made a choking sound behind her.
Alekxander ignored it.
“You don’t remember?” he asked suddenly.
Her stomach tightened slightly.
Remember what?
The original Ophelia’s memories?
The poisoning?
Him?
Ophelia forced herself to stay calm.
“Should I?”
For the first time since entering the room, something flickered across his face.
Not anger.
Something else.
Relief.
But it disappeared so quickly she almost thought she imagined it.
Alekxander stepped closer slowly.
And Ophelia immediately noticed something strange.
The closer he got,
The louder the whispers became.
Her head started hurting again.
Soft voices filled her ears.
“She cannot find out.”
“Protect her.”
“No matter what happens…”
Ophelia grabbed the edge of the table suddenly.
Her breathing became uneven.
Emily rushed forward instantly.
“My lady!”
But Ophelia couldn’t hear properly anymore.
Because the moment Alekxander touched her arm,
Everything exploded inside her head.
A ballroom.
Music.
The original Ophelia crying quietly.
Alekxander standing beside her near a balcony.
“You shouldn’t trust them,” he said softly.
Then another memory.
Blood on white gloves.
Someone screaming.
And finally,
A voice whispering near her ear.
“If she remembers, she dies.”
Ophelia jerked away sharply.
The visions disappeared immediately.
The room returned.
Emily looked terrified.
But Alekxander…
Alekxander looked calm.
Too calm.
Like this confirmed something for him.
“What was that?” Ophelia whispered before she could stop herself.
His gaze stayed fixed on her.
“What did you see?”
Wrong answer.
Very wrong answer.
Because that sounded like a man who already knew something was happening to her.
Ophelia’s heart started beating faster.
The room suddenly felt dangerous.
“No,” she said quietly.
“You answer first.”
Silence.
Alekxander stared at her for a long moment before speaking.
“You should stop touching things you don’t understand.”
That was definitely not suspicious at all.
Ophelia laughed nervously.
“See, sentences like that make you sound evil.”
Emily looked horrified again.
But this time,
Very slightly…
Alekxander almost smiled.
Almost.
Then it vanished.
“You need rest,” he said calmly.
“And you need explanations.”
Neither moved.
The tension in the room became unbearable.
Finally, Alekxander stepped back.
“We’ll speak again tonight.”
Tonight?
Ophelia frowned immediately.
“Excuse me?”
But he was already walking toward the door.
Then suddenly, he stopped.
Without turning around, he said quietly:
“Do not trust your family, Ophelia.”
Not Lady Ophelia.
Just Ophelia.
Like he knew.
A cold feeling spread through her chest.
The door closed behind him seconds later.
Silence filled the room again.
Emily looked pale.
Meanwhile Ophelia stood completely frozen beside the table.
Because only one thought kept repeating inside her head.
Lord Alekxander Vale knew something.
And somehow, her guts told her.
She was becoming more afraid of the people inside this house than the very man everyone called dangerous.